Over
the years I have had various business cards of different designs and for
different purposes. Starting in college, I found this to be a great tool when
going to meetings, networking events, and when interviewing for jobs. Having a
clear, well designed business card has always made a great impression and
proved to be a key early on in both my academic and professional careers.
It
is actually interesting for me to look back at all of my old cards as I have
kept copies from every address and position that I have held over the years.
While many times I opted for a very basic design and layout, there are other
cards when I used a little creativity to help them stand out. Having recently
in the late fall and wanting to change things up a bit, I found myself in a
position where I needed to update my cards. While in the past I have always
walked into the local Staples to get the work done, this time around I decided
to give Vistaprint a try.
The
basic templates and stock options were all reasonable and offered a wide
variety for just about any profession or service imaginable. While there was
nothing with a square and compass I did find an appropriate design with just a
hint of blue that I was able to tailor to my needs. With a thick linen stock,
these new cards should hold up much better than the last batch and it was only
a couple dollars more for the batch of 500.
Designing
my personal cards was a little more of an involved process as I really wanted
to change things up as compared to the ones that I have had printed in the
past. With a stockpile of photos from various trips at my immediate disposal, I
decided that this would be a perfect time to use some of my favorite images. So
I went with a full color design on the front and back evenly spacing four
photos on the front and six on the back. It seems like a lot but it actually
worked out and looks fantastic.
Of
course, when placing this order I was given the option to purchase an address
stamp at a significant discount. With the amount of physical mail that I still
send out on a regular basis this was well worth the five dollar investment.
When I received the order at work the following week the cards were better than
expected but the stamp fell short. More accurately, it was a little off center
and tilted. However, to their credit, it took me about two minutes to get
everything squared away with customer service and a new unit was in hand by the
end of the week.
So
now I find myself with quite the collection of active business cards as I have
two personal options, one for lodge, one for work, and I am also receiving promotional
business cards for each book that I publish. I have two in hand so far with two
more on the way and a more that will follow later in the year. By the end of
the year I may have a pocket full of about a dozen options. I think I may have
a problem.
